BHUBANESWAR: The economic offence wing (EOW) of the state crime branch on Thursday proposed to the finance department that it attach the properties of two money circulation companies owned by Khirod Mallick, brother of BJD MLA and former minister Pramila Mallick.

The EOW arrested Khirod on October 27, 2014, on charges of floating the unlicenced money circulation firms — Biswa Chit Fund and Credible Micro Finance — and duping investors of more than Rs 10 crore. EOW sources said Khirod also collected deposits from people through various wings of his NGO, Biswa.

"We have moved the finance department to attach movable and immovable assets of the two companies. The cost of those properties would be around Rs 70 crore," EOW DIG Sanjay Kumar said.

The EOW located 10 acres of land (located in Sambalpur and Bhubaneswar), bank deposits worth nearly Rs 55.54 lakh, two buildings in Sambalpur and a fuel filling station in Sambalpur, owned by Khirod.

"Khirod's Credible Micro Finance was a non-banking financial company (NBFC). He was not authorized by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to collect deposits from people by luring them with high interest rates. But he violated the norms and collected crores of rupees between 2006 and 2012. The RBI had cancelled the firm's licence in June last year," said another EOW officer.

In 2012, the Gajapati district administration received complaints from some investors and started a probe into Khirod's company. The administration sent a report to the RBI and confirmed that the company collected crores of rupees illegally by promising to double the investments in two and a half years, EOW sources said.

The RBI had issued a show-caused notice to Khirod and asked him to return the money to investors. "Though Khirod had given a written undertaking that he would repay the money, he reneged on his promise. The RBI recently asked the state finance department to initiate action against him. The finance department lodged a complaint with us in December first week," the officer said.

Khirod had landed behind the bars in the past as well. On May 24, 2012, the commissionerate of police arrested him for his alleged involvement in an acid attack on a man in Mancheswar area here in October 2011. Pramila, legislator of Binjharpur, refused to comment on her brother's involvement in the alleged Ponzi scam.

CHENNAI: Ahead of the inauguration of Global Investors Meet to be held here on May 23, real estate developers in the city are busy charting out new strategies to showcase brand Tamil Nadu and Chennai across the globe